Walt Disney on New Orleans Square:“Disneyland would be a world of Americans, past and present, seen through the eyes of my imagination — a place of warmth and nostalgia, of illusion and color and delight.”
Overview: New Orleans Square evokes the energy, elegance, culture, music and architecture of the French Quarter. It features the classic Disneyland Park attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, along with distinctive boutiques and restaurants that give guests a little taste of the Big Easy in the 1800s. From swashbuckling pirates to hitchhiking ghosts to street musicians, New Orleans Square certainly has character.
What’s new: Each year, Jack Skellington gives the Haunted Mansion a Christmas makeover, complete with jack-o-lanterns and wreaths, a real gingerbread house and kooky characters from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Haunted Mansion Holiday is open throughout the Halloween and holiday seasons at Disneyland Park.
Don’t miss:New Orleans Square has two indoor attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. In Pirates of the Caribbean, guests set sail as Captain Jack Sparrow attempts to plunder the town’s treasures. Ghosts and ghouls await guests who choose to take a tour of the Haunted Mansion. The land also includes New Orleans Square Station, from which guests can embark on a circle tour of Disneyland Park aboard the Disneyland Railroad.
Attractions:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Disneyland Railroad
Entertainment: New Orleans Square buzzes with jazz and blues of the French Quarter, with daily performances from live entertainers such as the Royal Street Bachelors, The Bootstrappers and Jambalaya Jazz.
Dining: New Orleans Square is home to the famous Blue Bayou Restaurant, where guests can dine on Cajun and Creole specialties, like the Royal Street Seafood Jambalaya, inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Café Orléans also offers delicious table-service options along the Rivers of America. Guests may grab quick Southern favorites like Cajun meatloaf at the French Market Restaurant and gumbo in a bread boule at the Royal Street Veranda.
Imaginative landscaping: The landscaping in New Orleans Square evokes grace, beauty and history. Towering trees provide shade and seem to have stood there for a century. In fact, some predate Disneyland Park itself. When Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles was being re-landscaped in the 1960s, Imagineer Bill Evans salvaged some of the park’s trees to be replanted in the developing new land.
Did you know?
The mast of a ship can be seen just over the rooftops of the buildings along Orleans Street, giving the area the feeling of a port town.
Pirates of the Caribbean features more than 120 Audio-Animatronics figures.
New Orleans Square is filled with relics brought back from New Orleans by Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian.
The upper stories of the New Orleans Square buildings, inaccessible to most guests, contain the exclusive, membership-only Club 33 and, directly above the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disneyland Dream Suite. The Dream Suite originally was designed as a private apartment for Walt himself, but he passed away before it could be completed.
If you look closely at the ironwork on the Dream Suite balcony you’ll see the initials WD (Walt Disney) and RD (Roy Disney, Walt’s brother) in the design.
Cast member tips:
A favorite snack in New Orleans Square is the Mickey-shaped beignets found at the Mint Julep Bar.
The courtyard between French Market Restaurant and Haunted Mansion is a quiet, shady spot – great for relaxing and taking a break.
Time your meal at French Market Restaurant around a performance of the Royal Street Bachelors and enjoy great music while you eat.
The merchandise locations in New Orleans Square, such as Le Bat En Rouge and Mlle. Antoinette’s Parfumerie, are great places to find unique souvenirs and gifts during your visit.
Be sure to make dining reservations ahead of time for Café Orléans and Blue Bayou Restaurant, as these locations are very popular.
